A talk on the need and importance of organ donation was delivered in the Nagpur High Court on 10th September 2015. Justice Bhushan Gavai Senior Administrative Judge Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court, Justice Bhushan Dharmadhikari, Justice V.M. Deshpande, Justice A.I.S. Cheema, Registrar Adv. A.S. Rajanderkar, President of High Court Bar Association Advocate Arun Patil, Secretary of High Court Bar Association Shradhanand Bhutada, Adv. Bharti Dangre Government pleader, Advocates Tejaswini Khade, B S Naik and others were prominently present on the occasion. The talk was given by Sqn Ldr (Dr) Ravi Wankhede Head of MOHAN Foundation, Nagpur Centre and Expert member of Zonal Transplant Coordination Centre, Nagpur setup by Government of Maharashtra. Dr. Wankhede is also the Rotary Club and Rotary District Chairman of Organ Donation Awareness Committee.
At the outset Dr. Ravi Wankhede was introduced & welcomed by Advocates Tejaswini Khade to the august audience. An elaborate powerpoint presentation, giving the history of transplantation, the law governing the activities, religious aspects and the technicalities were highlighted. He informed the audience that organs can be donated while living and after natural (Cardiac) or Brain death.
Stress was laid on to know a condition called ‘brain death’ sustained due to accidents, bleeding in the brain, tumors in the brain, etc from whom several organs and tissues could be harvested and transplanted on the needy. He said that this a routine practice in the developed countries. In India except in Tamil Nadu the numbers of donations are dismal. This he said is due to lack of awareness, religious misconceptions, superstitions and a general lack of social zeal amongst Indians. He said millions of people lead a miserable life due to organ failure such as kidneys, liver, heart, etc. He said even eye donation is not as much as required and falls deficit by 50%. He gave example of Sri Lanka who export corneas to several countries including India. This he said is because almost everybody donated eyes in Sri Lanka.
Dr. Ravi Wankhede stressed on the need for donation of eyes and also skin after Cardiac death, He informed the audience that there is a Skin Bank in Nagpur at Orange City Hospital & Research Institute started about ten months ago with help of Rotary Club of Nagpur. Skin is harvested from the thigh region only and hence it is not visible to the family. He informed the audience that skin is required for burn cases and provides for better and less expensive treatment. He told that India has largest numbers of burn cases in the world, and hence the need to donate skin. Both eyes and skin have to be donated within six hours of death. Dr. Ravi Wankhede informed the gathering that the first step towards the social cause is to pledge to donate organs and get an organ donor card.
Registrar of High Court Adv. A.S. Rajanderkar proposed a vote of thanks and assured Dr. Wankhede on part of all legal fraternity to cooperate in spreading the knowledge of the subject. Significantly many Justices and Advocates pledged to donate organs after the talk.
-ACT,-2011.gif){kind=spacer}
